San Francisco 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh has decided on Colin Kaepernick as his starting quarterback for Sunday's game in New Orleans, SI.com reported Wednesday night.

According to the report, Harbaugh informed No. 1 QB Alex Smith that Kapernick would start against the Saints in New Orleans, and that the decision was not based on Smith's recovery from his Nov. 11 concussion.

49ers quarterback controversy: Colin Kaepernick may be in line to make his second pro start on Sunday. (AP Photo)

Smith, however, apparently is under the impression that he could still play. According to ESPN, Smith was told by Harbaugh that Kaepernick is only getting first-team reps and that Smith could still start based on how the quarterbacks perform in practice. Smith has yet to be cleared to return to the field, but it's expected that will happen this week.

Earlier Wednesday, Harbaugh did nothing to dispel the notion of a quarterback controversy with his team, saying that no decision had been made on who the starter would be for the rest of the season.

In fact, Harbaugh even said the Smith-or-Kaepernick debate could be a week-to-week event depending on who is playing better.

"I think it's a unique situation to have two really good players," he said. "Could we? Yes, we could."

The 49ers began preparing for the Chicago Bears last week by giving Smith the bulk of the practice snaps. As the week went on, Smith's symptoms returned and more snaps started going to Kaepernick.

The 49ers didn't decide on Kaepernick until Sunday night — and he was outstanding in a 32-7 victory over the Bears on Monday night, starting the stir about a potential controversy.

With the recent history in mind and with the 49ers dealing with a short work week, Kaepernick seems to be the safer bet to play against the Saints.

Then again, Sunday's 1 p.m. ET game will be in the loud Superdome, which would make things difficult for Kaepernick, and against a Saints team that Smith played very well against in the playoffs 10 months ago.